SUVA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- About 500 women artisans from across Fiji gathered here for the fifth National Women’s Expo on Wednesday to boost their economic participation.

Opening the three-day event, Sarote Konrote, wife of Fijian President Jioji Konrote, said the Fijian government is committed to developing women to participate in the economic sector of the nation.

The expo is an example of an innovative intervention in terms of the economic empowerment of rural women artisans, she said, adding that the National Women’s Expo offered women an opportunity to refine their designs and business management skills through product quality control, packaging and labelling, certification, licensing and financial literacy assistance.

Fiji's Minister for Women and Children Mereseini Vuniwaqa said the expo would improve the connection of rural women artisans to local and overseas markets, the national women’s expo is therefore a program aiming to empower Fijian women artisans as entrepreneurs and enhance their economic participation.

She said the Fijian government promotes women’s economic empowerment especially for those in rural areas and maritime zones.

Vuniwaqa said women make enormous contribution to economies in businesses, on farms, as employees, as employers or by doing unpaid care work at home.

The 2019 expo theme “Think Equal, Build Smart, and Innovate for Change” is aligned with the U.N. theme for the International Women’s Day. Enditem

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